


It's a Kindness

by Innocentfighter



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Canonical Character Death, Canonical Character Resurrection, Gen, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Sibling Bonding, Tim Drake is Red Robin, Tim is a good bro, Zombie Plague Speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 13:12:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16873518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Innocentfighter/pseuds/Innocentfighter
Summary: Jason: If you turn into a zombie, I’d kill you out of love.Tim: That’s not how this works.





	It's a Kindness

**Author's Note:**

> Not super Jason angst? From moi? It's more likely than you think!

Tim walks into the living room and blinks when he sees Jason laying on the couch. Jason doesn’t come around the manor much, more than he used to, and it’s always when he’s sure Bruce wouldn’t be there. Currently, the family is at Cass’ recital, and while Tim wanted to go classical music still made him uncomfortable.

So, his plan for watching bad horror movies while working on a paper was derailed.

“Yo,” Jason waves at him.

“How’d you get in?” Tim asks.

Jason shrugs, “I still have a key, and a bio-scan.”

Tim sits down in front of the couch and opens his laptop. Jason snorts, but doesn’t say anything. He’s about three paragraphs in when he sighs, he can’t work in complete silence.

“Put on a movie,” Tim requests, “something that isn’t distracting.”

Jason sits up and reaches around him for the remote, “what do you want on?”

“Some sort of horror movie,” Tim says

“Really?”

A few minutes later Jason finds something that time assumes meets the standard of bad but bearable. Tim glances up and his lips twitch. Since his return to life, Jason has had a thing for zombie films and books. No one knows if it’s a coping thing or if Jason thinks it’s funny. Bruce and Dick both hate it, Damian doesn’t care, but Tim finds it slightly amusing. It’s the least painful thing Jason’s made the family endure after all.

Jason chuckles behind him. Tim slowly sinks back into the rhythm of typing, the clicking being broken up by the sounds from the TV. Occasionally Jason would bump against him. He forgot that his brother likes to be tactile, at least when there’s one other person in the room.

Tim doesn’t mind it. The touches are enough to remind him he isn’t alone but brief enough that he doesn’t get caught up in them.

Another hour passes, and Tim’s hands start to cramp. Jason finds another zombie movie.

“Y’know what you would do if there was a zombie plague?”

“What?” Tim turns around.

“If zombies became a problem, what would you do?”

Tim frowns, “contain the infected and then try to find a cure.”

Jason tilts his head, “and if it was Dick or Demon or Bruce?”

“You mean my family?” Tim raises an eyebrow, “including you?”

Jason shrugs, but he’s still focused on Tim.

“Isolate the person, and then find a cure.”

“Risking an escape and endangering more people?” Jason asks, “what if they’re-we’re, suffering?”

Tim narrows his eyes, “I’d be saving you!”

Jason glances away, head ducked.

“Okay,” Tim turns around fully, “what would you do?”

“Well,” Jason says dramatically, “not get bit.”

“Jason.”

“If it was any of you,” Jason’s voice softens, “I’d shoot you in the head twice.”

Tim blinks, “you’d shoot us?”

Jason gives a half-gesture. Tim understands it to mean _I have before._

“I mean, if it’s anything like the movies, then there wouldn’t be a chance to contain it fast enough to make a cure worth it.”

“So, you’d just kill us?” He knows there’s something more to Jason’s words.

There usually is a deeper meaning, but most people don’t bother to look at Jason’s words too closely. Bruce included.

“Well,” Jason sighs, “it’s a favor, yeah? Stops your suffering.”

_There it is,_ Tim thinks, “so it’s a kindness?”

Jason looks away, “I guess so.”

The conversation trails off and Tim thinks it’s over. He turns back around and starts typing again. A half an hour passes before Jason speaks again.

“I wouldn’t like it,” Jason whispers.

There’s a long pause.

“I’d hate it.”

Tim keeps his face neutral as he twists, “never thought you’d enjoy it.”

Jason’s eyes flicker close, “Just. Making sure.”

Tim turns back around and smiles. He knows that Jason would be heartbroken if he had to pull the trigger on one of them. That’s been clear since he came back and _shot_ them but didn’t _kill_ them, they all knew that he could have. To kill them after all the progress they’ve made would destroy Jason. His smile softens _as I said, there’s always a deeper meaning._

They stay silent until Jason checks the time about an hour later.

“I’m leaving.”

Tim stops typing, “see you.”

“Patrol?”

“At 12.”

“Okay.”

Tim is still grinning when the rest of the family returns. Dick seems to know something happened but doesn’t ask. Bruce seems baffled.

**Author's Note:**

> Short and sweet! Leave your thoughts below!


End file.
